October 30, 2009

Our October 24th meeting which coincided with archives day went quite well at our Richland facility. We had 30 for a sit down lunch at noon, and another 10 or so folks came in and out through the afternoon. At 1 pm we held a brief meeting of the society, our last at Richland for the season. Our next meeting will be held at the H. Douglas Barclay Court House in Pulaski on Saturday November 21. We are trying to also reschedule our annual holiday musical concert for that afternoon, and will let everyone know in this space as time gets closer.

Also during the 24th four students from the Pulaski School History Club (SHIP) worked at photographing stones in Richland cemetery around the corner from our facility. The students have taken on a project to photograph all of the existing stones for our records. A good two hours work was undertaken before they were driven out by the rain. Our thanks go out to history club members: Ken and Cary, Dan, John. Back at the facility, Ian Lowery, another student worker assisted in insulating an interior wall on the second floor.

Our dinner was donated by Barbara Brown of Palermo, and consisted of three choice hams, scalloped potatoes and salads. Roberta Cleveland also brought one of her famed tossed salads that this writer is particularly partial to.

Tours of the nearly completed 2nd floor room were ongoing through the day. We need to install a drop ceiling before the room is put into use. Right now our insulation and the beams are exposed. The work has come along very well though, and we are grateful to the contractors as well as our volunteers and donors.

Effective Monday October 26, our librarian George Widrig will be working from the Barclay Court House Historians office off the elevator over DMV. George will be there Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Fridays from 9-noon. On Fridays this writer will generally be there from 2 until 5 pm. We have moved our family files to this location for the winter, and many other research items are available for perusal, including access to our ancestry.com and footnote.com accounts.

We have had a couple of new life members: Bob & June Walker of Chaumont, NY and Edwin Fisher of Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Mr. Fisher has also made several archival donations in the past year. He is researching the Gurley, Laney, Hazzard and Edgar families of Central Oswego County. Life memberships are available for $250.00 while our regular membership is $12 annually or $25 per household.

Half-Shire can be reached at halfshire@hotmail.com or on the web at www.halfshire.com. Our mailing address is P.O. 73, 1100 County Rte. 48, Richland, NY 13144. 298-3620 for hours or inquiries.

The Fulton District Wide Storytelling Festival was held and storytellers from throughout the district showcased their talents in telling a wide variety of stories. Participants told a folktale, fairytale, myth, legend, tall tale or fable. The stories ranged from spooky legends to hilarious tales and many had a useful moral attached that provided a bit [...]

Parents: Get your social life back on track! Go out “guilt-free” and have fun knowing that your children are not just waiting for you by the TV — but are having fun too!

The following students are on the Dean’s List for their outstanding academic achievement for the Fall 2009 semester from the Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering at Binghamton University, State University of New York.
The criteria for the Dean’s Honors list is a minimum grade point average of 3.5.
Christopher Marnell Mohr — Pennellville
Joseph T. Troia — [...]

Happy New Year to all of our readers in the tri-county region!
While our Richland facility is closed until April, the society is still active with Friday afternoon hours at the Barclay Court House in Pulaski (2nd floor over DMV, 2pm until 5) or by appointment. We got off to a rocky start following our [...]